Sunday, March 01, 2009

When I am elected president, I will...

Mr. President:

We know you are busy. And, Cuba is not at the top of your list.

Changing the Cuba Travel Ban and the Embargo are complex. Frankly, we understand that you have your eye on the collapse of the economy and winding down George Bush's wars. And Congress will be needed to change these. We'll wait.

However, with no more than a minute of your time and a signature you can fulfill the promise you made in Miami before a packed house in Little Havana. George Bush created cruel and nasty new rules that affect hundreds of thousands of Cuban families in the U.S. and Cuba. It was done in a minute with nothing more than a presidential signature. You need only undo the damage --with a presidential signature. No need to think about it; you've already made the decision and announced it. You did it over a year ago when you said:

When I am elected president, I will grant Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island....

About Me

Of the biblical allotment of three score and ten I have lived only three of them more than a bicycle ride from one of the Great Lakes. I grew up ten blocks from Lake Erie in the (once Irish/Italian ghetto, now newly-hip) "Near West Side" of Cleveland. I can still cycle to the Milwaukee lakefront in an hour and a half; but, a round-trip has always been more than I would (noror ever did) attempt.
-0- I'm a "...somewhat combative pacifist and fairly cooperative anarchist," after the example of Grace Paley (1922-2007).
-0- I'm always cheerful when I pay my taxes (having refused--when necessary--to pay that portion of them dedicated to war).
-0- And I always, always vote.